Intellectual Property (IP) assets have been recognized as the currency of next generation trade and the key factor contributing to an Enterprise's growth and sustainability. The trade is valued by sharp IP Portfolios, whose sustenance, disruptiveness and alignment to business rank an Enterprise's capability towards top-notch IP led offerings and to process the freedom to operate in a definite marketplace.
Thus, management of Intellectual Property is becoming increasingly crucial and globally, it has been observed that 80-85% of the market capitalization of the S&P 500 companies is attributable to the IP assets cutting across all technology and business sectors. Trends also show that the proportion of value derived from IP assets has changed significantly over the last three decades, wherein IP's contribution to market capitalization has consistently being increased from 17% in 1975 to its current levels. Global trends also show with convergence that the trade related aspects of IP lies not in its individual worth, but in a strategically designed, optimally aggregated and well managed IP portfolio which offers scale, diversity and synergy related advantages.
An IP portfolio of an Enterprise may be understood as a set of multi-objective clusters of its standalone patents or a set of patents, being appropriately inter-linked, positioned and self-optimized with respect to technology, time sustainability, and focused business area. Hence, analogous to the general theory of modern portfolio optimization for financial instruments, optimization of the IP portfolio is a problem involving complex decision support methodologies used to ensure that the IP in the Enterprise adds or gains business value, and simultaneously is well-protected against any risk of litigation and changes in business environment. Further, uncertain valuation of standalone patents, proliferated nature of technology and the necessity to integrate various aspects, like synergy and business strategy alignment, may pose various problems while managing the IP portfolio.
Many global innovative companies have built their own Portfolio model(s) being synchronized with their growth and predicted business initiatives. The Enterprise needs to be IP sustainable from a firm base of grass root level, wherein each standalone IP should be matured in a sustainable and optimized manner. Creation of a sustainable IP base can then only lead to a sustainable and optimized IP Portfolio and can further lead to a sustainable patent/portfolio led offerings.